The Violinist, a hand-drawn period drama co-directed by Ervin Han and Raúl García, has won the Cristal Award for best feature film at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
A Singapore‑led period drama, the film traces the history of Singapore and Malaya from 1929 to the present through the lives of two childhood friends and gifted violinists whose lives are torn apart by war and the Japanese occupation.
The Violinist is the first Singaporean feature to play in competition at Annecy and marks a milestone for Southeast Asian animation, being produced by Robot Playground Media with Spain’s TV ON Producciones and Italy’s Altri Occhi; worldwide sales are being handled by France tv distribution.
Ervin Han, co‑director and co‑writer, said, “To receive the Cristal at Annecy is beyond anything we imagined when we first began this journey. This honour belongs to the extraordinary artists, animators, musicians and filmmakers across Singapore, Spain, Italy and many other countries who gave so much of themselves to this film. We hope this recognition not only celebrates The Violinist, but also encourages more stories from Singapore and Southeast Asia to find audiences around the world.”
The film also won the SACEM Award for Best Original Soundtrack in a Feature Film, recognising the score by Golden Horse Award‑winning Singaporean composer Ricky Ho together with Spanish composer Isabel Latorre and lead violin performances by Singaporean violinist Joy Yong.
Annecy’s Jury Award and the Audience Prize went to Iron Boy, the debut feature from French animator Louis Clichy, which also earned the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution. The Contrechamp Grand Prix was awarded to Blaise, directed by Dimitri Planchon and Jean‑Paul Guigue, while the Contrechamp Jury Award went to A New Dawn by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya.
Read more: ‘The Violinist’ Becomes First Singapore Animated Feature in Annecy Main Competition
Annecy — widely regarded as the world’s leading animation festival — received thousands of submissions this year, and The Violinist’s Cristal places the film firmly in international awards conversations and boosts its prospects for wider distribution and festival momentum.
The Violinist was produced by Singapore’s Robot Playground Media in official co‑production with TV ON Producciones (Spain) and Altri Occhi (Italy), with backing and participation from public institutions and broadcasters across the co‑producing nations.
